Ningyo Hime
by xtvntx
Summary: The story of a young mermaid who went to the surface to find love and experience life as a human. But at what cost? The young prince has everything anyone could ever want, but can't help but dream of the maiden who saved him. But would he give up his luxurious lifestyle in order to be with this woman of mystery? Each has something to lose, but are both willing to give? AU.
1. i curiosity saved the prince

I really shouldn't be making another story, but I suddenly felt like writing this after listening to EXO's Baby Don't Cry.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Otherwise, Hinata and Sasuke would have already made beautiful prodigy ninja babies that would ultimately rule the universe for being beautiful and talented with the Byakugan and Sharingan.

* * *

Somewhere under the sea, where the fish are happy, and live together in harmony abiding by the laws of the Sea Kingdom – the Hyuga Kingdom – lives a curious princess, the heiress to the Kingdom's throne._  
_

"Tell me again, Neji, the stories of your adventures on land." The heiress asked dreamily to her cousin.

"For the last time, Lady Hinata, I wasn't on land, I've just seen the surface." He said, reading old books in the palace's library. "I don't see why you're so fascinated by the land. It isn't special at all, and not nearly as beautiful as the Sea Kingdom."

"It's an adventure, Neji!" Hinata had been a curious little fish since the day she was born. It was perhaps why she was deemed so unfit to become the heiress to the throne. She was more of the human part of her than the fish part. "I want to hear about the people! All about walking!"

Neji sighed and retold his stories of the sights he had witnessed when he used to venture to the surface. He had once felt resentment for the Main house in the Hyuga Kingdom, he would swim to the surface as a way to be away from the sea world that seemed to remind him of his deceased father. Now however, he didn't want his younger cousin to have anything to do with the land roamers. He loved her deeply and would do anything to protect her, but even more so, he'd do anything to make her happy.

"Hinata." Neji and Hinata turned their heads to see the King, Hiashi, enter the library with a stern face. "I told you to stop pestering Neji about the damned land folk, hadn't I? It's time for your studies."

"Father, could I please just swim to the surface? I'll get an escort or something!" Hinata pleaded with the cutest face she could pull. Unfortunately for her, that only worked if she was Hanabi. The look on his face said it all.

Hiashi exited leaving a defeated Hinata to frown. She was of age soon, eighteen years old by the end of the year, to swim to the surface. She was determined to do so. She was tired of feeling like she had to obey her father's every command, she wanted to be her own being. Turning to Neji with a determined look on her face, Neji shook his head.

"You will not, and I will not aid this ridiculous journey." He hissed. "You're not even old enough yet."

"It's only a few more months, I'm pretty much eighteen." Hinata argued. "If you don't help, I'll go on my own." Hinata stormed out hearing Neji calling after her. She swam out of the palace, sneaking past her father and guards, swimming full speed up to the surface to finally satisfy her curiosity.

On the surface there was an open sky, just like Neji had said but it seemed to be dark and grey unlike the array of oranges, pinks, and yellows that Neji had described. _Rain…_ Hinata thought. She swam over to an enormous rock by the shore, and enjoyed the feeling of the air against her usually wet skin. It was absolutely refreshing! The look of sand, and the beach was sure to be mesmerizing under that beautiful sky that Neji had described. She could stay up there forever, but she knew it was time she went back down so not to get into too much trouble.

The loud sound of a crash caught her attention just as she was about to slip back down into the sea. There she saw it! The orange, and yellow, and pink that looked red. She wanted to see it for herself but when she got there, all she saw was chaos. There was burning wood, screaming people and red that stained the surface of the blue waters. The rain began to pour but the burst of reds and oranges wouldn't go away.

Hinata looked toward the ignited ship only to see a man plummet into the water as another had…done something that she wasn't familiar with. She didn't know what it was, but by the way it sounded, it didn't sound pleasant. Swimming forward, she felt inclined on helping the fallen man.

* * *

The ship rocked gently as the passengers danced and feasted. It was the prince's bachelor party yet for some reason there was a whole entourage of people on the ship – more than the expected four he had originally invited. The prince didn't like parties, at least not with people he could care less about.

"Hey bastard, why aren't you in there drinking your heart out?" asked his best friend, Naruto. "It's your bachelor party, you're supposed to enjoy yourself. You're getting married to Sakura for crying out loud!"

Sasuke didn't see why his friend seemed to like the girl so much. She was good looking, he'd give her that – an exotic look with her emerald eyes and pink hair – but aside from that, she was rather annoying. She failed to amuse him in anything she did, she was uninteresting, and he didn't even like her in the first place. This was all so that the Uchiha Kingdom and the Senju Kingdom would have strong ties once more as it had with his great grandfather Madara and the Senju leader Hashirama. He had everything he could ever need, and settling down with a woman who at least seemed to love him seemed fine by him.

"Idiot, just get back in there with whoever you randomly invited onto my ship, and do whatever you were doing." Sasuke sighed, shaking his head as he went over to lean over the railing. He looked back to see his other three friends – Shikamaru, Gaara and Kiba – approaching.

"Whaddya mean?" Naruto seemed genuinely confused. "I only invited Sai, Iruka and Kakashi. You guys?" he asked the others.

"I invited Chouji and Asuma." Shikamaru said flatly.

"I invited Shino, Lee and Kankuro." Kiba shrugged.

"You invited my imbecile brother?" Gaara asked looking over at Kiba. Kiba shrugged again. "I didn't invite anyone, I thought it was a guy's night out on the sea."

"Then…who are the others?" Sasuke asked, turning around slowly to face his troupe of friends. He looked over to Shikamaru who sighed out a 'what a drag'. "You planned my bachelor party, and let strangers onto my ship?"

"Calm down, Sasuke. I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation as to why this happened." Naruto tried to reason weakly. "People probably invited each of their friends." There were screams heard from the inside dance area. Within seconds there were passengers fleeing towards them and the sound of gunfire.

"Everyone calm down!" Sasuke ordered in a tone louder than his usual voice. "Guys, get everyone to life boats!"

An explosion went off in the front of the ship causing the sinking to commence. Sasuke watched as people boarded the life boats, escaping in the nick of time. He slipped and held onto a railing but the boat was sinking fast. Looking up, he saw one of the perpetrators holding him at kunai point. "This is for my father." Sasuke heard the man scream through his mask. The only way to avoid a vital shot was to let go, but would he survive the fall? Just as he watched the man rev his arm back to send the kunai flying down, Sasuke let his hand slip only hearing a ringing noise in his ears as another explosion went off, and the faint sound of Naruto screaming his name.

Everything after that was a blur. He had taken the blade to his shoulder, and felt like he was sinking deeper and deeper into the sea. As he began to lose consciousness, he finally let go and accepted his fate.


	2. ii heaven is a place on earth

Cover by kohanechan on DA

* * *

Heaven seemed a lot like the living world. Sasuke couldn't quite understand it. He felt grains of sand under his sore limbs through his torn clothing, and tiny waves washed over his cold feet – but felt his head on something smooth. Opening his eyes and looking up, he could only vaguely see the features of who he assumed to be an angel bringing him to heaven. Her indigo hair spilled over her shoulders covering her scantily clad torso, and a crown made of shells and pearls rested on top of her head. He couldn't see much, his vision was distorted but he could hear clearly the voice of the angel, it was intoxicating to say the least, putting him in a trance like state.

"_One step closer. I have died everyday waiting for you. Darling don't be afraid I have loved you for a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more…_" she sang to him, gently stroking his hair. Sasuke felt the corners of mouth turn upwards uncharacteristically into a warm relaxed smile – hasn't done one of those in a good two decades.

Hinata blinked looking down at the beautiful creature before her. A human! He was absolutely fascinating with his two legs, and he was nothing like Neji. The men where she came from kept their hair long to express royalty. From the way the other humans were calling for him, she knew he was a prince but a prince with short hair?

"Is this really what heaven's like?" he asked, his deep voice was rich with a light English accent just like hers and Neji's, and every other merperson she knew. So maybe they weren't so different from humans – they were half human after all. Sasuke reached a large calloused hand to touch Hinata's face, checking to see if she was really there. "You are very soft, my angel."

Hinata turned bright red earning her a light chuckle from the handsome prince. He couldn't make out her features, but from what he could see – which was very little – she was overall fair which was a stark contrast to her wet hair. Before Hinata could respond to him, she heard faint voices in the distance approaching them.

"Prince Asshole, where are you?!"

"Naruto, he's a prince, you can't call him an asshole."

"Not unless you wanna get thrown into the Uchiha dungeon."

"Let's check over there, no one has checked. Maybe he washed up on shore."

In a panic, Hinata gently laid the prince onto the beach, and proceeded to slip back into the ocean. She felt a hand grasp her wrist, forbidding her from going.

"I must go." She said, her voice captivatingly soft.

"Take this," Sasuke pleaded, removing a silver chain from his neck. The chain had a red and white fan pendant that had the initials _S.U._ engraved into the back. "so that the next time we meet, I'll know it was you who saved me. I can't say my vision is the best right now." He struggled to sit up to trace the features of the stupefied under sea princess.

Hinata held onto his hand, handing him a necklace of her own that was exclusive to the Hyuga royalty. It was on a long thin silver chain, the pendant was what Sasuke recognized to be the Bagua symbol – eight trigrams used in Taoist cosmology. Behind it was little red flame looking cloud in a yellow oval. "We can exchange then. Until then, Prince Sasuke…" with that said, she returned to her turf.

The soft padding of his friends' footsteps brought Sasuke back to the real world – the world where for some reason he was still living in. The mystery woman wasn't just an angel, but his _guardian_ angel. He clutched the pendant in his hand and put the necklace around his neck, slipping it under his tattered shirt.

"Sasuke, there you are!" exclaimed the annoying raspy voice of his best friend. Sasuke really didn't pay attention to what they had to say, he only found himself lost once again in his thoughts of his saviour.


	3. iii temper tantrums

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* * *

Hinata flinched as her father slammed the side of his fist onto the arm of his throne. Hinata stayed idle in front of her father with her head down. She had defied him and she knew that it'd come with consequences.

"Hinata, I specifically told you to study for a reason." Hiashi tried calming himself, but he really didn't want his daughter to associate herself with the land dwellers.

"Yes daddy, but I couldn't resist!" Hinata confessed. "I saved someone today!"

Hiashi's eyes widened. "Are you okay? Did they harm you?" Hinata looked at her father strangely. Why would they hurt her? Prince Sasuke was so kind, and handsome. She didn't see why her father would even consider that he'd hurt her.

"Hinata, your uncle Hizashi was murdered by one of those land demons!" Hiashi yelled. "They thought they had a breakthrough, and _dissected _him. Humans are the children of the devil for the love of the sea!"

"Sasuke is different, daddy!" Hinata argued, tears beginning to fall. "He'd never do anything like that to me!"

Hiashi's frown deepened. "Hinata you've met this man once, you don't know a damn thing about him!" his eyes caught something shine and it definitely wasn't the Hyuga Eight Trigrams pendant. "What is that?" he asked darkly pointing to the necklace around her neck.

Hinata clutched the pendant, looking down avoiding the furious gaze of her father.

"Give me it. Where is your pendant?" he asked, his hostility rising as he was at his limit. Hinata refused with a furious shake of her head. "Hinata, you know I don't like to repeat myself. Give me it."

"Daddy, please!" Hinata pleaded. "It's Sasuke's! We're supposed to meet again, I love him!"

"Hinata you do not love this human, you only met him once!" Hiashi bellowed. "You traded your _mother's_ necklace so easily? How could you just let one of the sea's treasures fall into the hands of a damned land dweller's hands? You don't know what love is! You're much too young, and naïve if you believe in impossible things like love at first sight!" Hiashi got up from his throne and swam to his daughter with a glare and frown etched into his tired face.

Hinata backed away from her father. "Daddy, please…" she pleaded weakly, her voice shook with desperation and fear. Fear that her father would lock her away, fear that he would take the necklace away, and fear that she would never get to see Sasuke again. "Daddy, no!" Hiashi charged at Hinata.

"You stubborn girl, come back here!" he barked. "Guards, seize her!"

Hinata had prided herself in being one of the fastest swimmers in the kingdom, but it was difficult for even her when she was being chased by four guards. Hinata swam into someone and looked up to see a distressed Neji who grabbed a hold of her. A wave of betrayal washed over Hinata as she tried to escape her cousin's strong grip.

Hiashi approached Hinata and took a deep breath. "Hinata, remove that at once and give it to me, or I will take it by force."

"Isn't that exactly what you're doing right now?" Hinata cried. Hiashi rubbed the bridge of his nose, and tore the necklace from Hinata's neck. "Neji will escort you everywhere from now on until you learn to never go to the surface again."

Hinata pushed Neji away once his guard was down and swam away to her room.

"Hinata, please open the door." Neji asked softly. Hinata remained silent and cursed him as a traitor in her mind. There was no longer a point in trying to meet Sasuke again. She needed the necklace. But then she could always try and steal the necklace back, couldn't she? But lord only knows where her father had thrown the necklace. If only there was some way for her to become human…and then it clicked in her mind. But she had to get away from Neji somehow.

* * *

Sasuke lay in bed staring at the ceiling thinking about his saviour. He had been put to bed with his shoulder wound cleaned and bandaged. He absently played with the necklace as if reminding him that the events had really happened. Whoever the mystery woman was must have been royal as well judging by the necklace, but he'd never seen the kingdom symbol before.

A knock drew Sasuke's attention away from the necklace. "Come in." he said.

It was his _fiancé_. Perhaps if he found this princess, he'd be able to annul the engagement between him and Sakura. She ran to him teary eyed, worried out of her mind that something had happened to him. They used to go to school together at the Fire Country's Institute, and ever since then, she loved him. It was real love that she thought she felt – she had to be in love if she liked him so long. Sasuke was aware of Sakura's deluded concepts of love, and also knew that it was not love but infatuation.

If you had asked him before whether he minded the fact that Sakura was only really just obsessed with him, he wouldn't have said anything, really he wouldn't have minded at all. But now, he wanted to be with the mystery woman, someone he believed he could love – and perhaps these were his delusions since the young Uchiha barely knew the concept of love aside from the love he felt for his mother.

After what seemed like forever, Sakura ceased her sobs and looked at Sasuke with wide green eyes as if he had been revived from the dead. "I thought you were dead when I heard news of the attack." She choked out, as sobs wracked her body once more as she clung to his still form. "I'm so glad you're alive."

Sasuke never made any attempt to make Sakura believe that he would fall in love with her. He didn't want to bring her hopes up; it would only provoke her to get more attached. But never did he ever make his disdain for her obvious – he's a prince, he's obligated to be a gentleman. So you could imagine Sakura's surprise when he pushed her away from her.

"S-Sasuke, what…what's wrong?" she asked. Sasuke dismissed her with a simple nod towards the door. He didn't need her around in the moments where he could live in his own world for a moment, where he wasn't prince Sasuke who had to run a kingdom – where he could marry the angel who rescued him when he was sure he was done for. He knew though, even if she were to appear before him right now, nothing could be of the pair. Even if she was a princess, a marriage with her wouldn't bond the Senju and Uchiha. He would be disowned, and he couldn't break his mother's heart like that, or disappoint his father either – not after Itachi stepped down from the throne.

Speaking of Itachi, he should have been back soon. Sasuke's older brother Itachi pursued his own dreams, leaving Sasuke behind – something Sasuke greatly resented him for. Sasuke bared the burden of the throne now while Itachi travelled the world on a ship with his best friends, making new discoveries, making treaties with other kingdoms from other countries.

Sasuke began to feel drowsy. He had become exhausted easily despite the fact that he rested in bed most of the time. His last thoughts as he drifted off to sleep were ones of a life without the cursed title of the future king of the Uchiha kingdom, living a mundane life with the indigo haired maiden.


	4. iv a deal with the devil

Hinata opened the door for Neji after he stood outside conversing with her through the door for the past two hours. Neji closed the door and swam to sit next to Hinata.

"I'm sorry." He started.

"I know. You were apologizing for the first hour and a half of our conversation." Hinata said.

"I just don't want you to get taken away by those humans." Neji sighed. "I…I don't want to have to relive losing someone to them." Hinata rubbed comforting circles on his bare back.

"Neji, remember when you would tell me all the time about my destiny and fate and all of that?" Neji nodded. He got over that phase in his life after he found out it wasn't Hiashi who sent his father to the surface, but his father who insisted on venturing to the surface to recover the Hyuga pendant that Hiashi had lost when they first went to the surface together. "Well I can feel it. Sasuke is my destiny, and it was fate that brought me there on that day."

Neji shook his head. "Even if that was the truth, I wouldn't want you to go to the surface. The humans will cage you and do horrendous things to you the moment they find out you're a mermaid."

"But that's the thing, Neji…I don't have to be a mermaid, now do I?" Hinata muttered. Neji looked at her strange. "Neji, you know I love you, right? You're my best friend, and the one person I trust more than anyone else." Neji didn't like what this was leading to.

"Hinata, I'm not letting you do anything stupid for that Sauce whatever guy." Neji said.

"Please, Neji. Help me get the necklace from father. I need to see him again, if not for the sake of seeing him, for the sake of retrieving mother's necklace – the one your father died getting." Hinata said, feeling guilty for pulling the father card on Neji. Hinata observed Neji's face changes. He went from a sad face to a thoughtful one as if he was thinking deeply about the past, and finally she knew he had caved.

"I'll be right back, don't do anything stupid." Neji warned. "I don't even know if he still has it in his possession – he probably threw it away already." Hinata knew that fact already. Once Neji was gone, Hinata booked it out quietly towards her destination – Orochimaru the Sea Serpent's lair.

Orochimaru was by no means a serpent – well not in his normal state. He was a merman who was perhaps just scalier with a snake like appearance. Some say he can become a giant serpent after he defeated and consumed the colossal sea serpent Manda – though many believe it only to be a rumor as Orochimaru would have to be ancient for him to be able to have defeated Manda who died so long ago…but then again no one knew how old Orochimaru was.

Hinata swam as fast as her body would go. This would be the biggest risk she would have ever taken – even more so than going to the surface and saving Sasuke from the burning boat. Nothing came for free, especially not if it came from Orochimaru. Though panic might've stalled her, her drive to be with Sasuke pushed her to continue.

Reaching the opening of the suspicious looking cave, Hinata felt her body go numb with fear. She brought her hand to the spot where Sasuke's necklace once rested and swam in. A merman with circular glasses, ash gray hair, and onyx eyes blocked her path with a smile.

"Well if it isn't the Hyuga princess. I'm Kabuto, what can I do for you today?" he asked. Everyone knew the Hyugas – they were the rulers of the sea after all.

"O…Orochimaru…I want to see him." She said nervously. Kabuto continued to smile at her, it was an intimidating smile that made her wonder if she was really being taken to Orochimaru or being lead to be slaughtered. Hinata followed Kabuto down a path inside the cave. The walls had many doors leading to rooms that each held some sort of horrific experiment.

"In you go, princess." He was beginning to really creep her out.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here!" the long haired man said. Once Hinata got a good look at him, she realized his tail was that of a snake's rather than a fish's – so perhaps the rumors weren't rumors after all.

"I…I would like to have l-legs and be h-human." Hinata stammered. The speed at which the serpent man swam at her had terrified her though she tried not to show it.

"You know coming to me comesss with a priccce, don't you?" he whispered darkly right next to her ear. Hinata just nodded which earned a low evil chuckle from him. "What can you offer me, princccesssss?"

Hinata hadn't brought anything, and she didn't even have her necklace to offer at this point.

"Why would sssea kingdom royalty want to become a human?" he asked, swimming circles around her, scrutinizing her ever feature. He stopped in front of her and brought his middle and pointer finger to her chin, tilting her head up to look him in the eyes – lavender met amber. His pupils were slits that looked through her – could read her every fear and desire.

"A…man?" Orochimaru laughed hysterically, as he peered through her head. "That'sss hysssterical! Old Hiashi'sss princccesssss hasss fallen in love with a human princcce!"

Hinata tore herself away from him and looked down, refusing to meet his intense gaze. "I-I have n-nothing to offer to you." She said honestly.

"Well sssinccce you're sssuch an _intriguing_ mermaid, let'sss make a deal." Hinata hesitated but nodded, accepting that she would do anything if she could be with Sasuke.

* * *

Neji returned to Hinata's room only to find her missing. He searched the palace but found no sign of her, and none of the guards had seen her either. Cursing to himself, he left the kingdom and swam around asking the commoners if they had seen their princess. No one had seen her, and he even swam to the surface to see where she was – she couldn't have gone past the shoreline, she didn't have legs.

Swimming back into the sea, Neji was deep in thought. Where could she have gone? Thinking back to their conversation, he tried recalling things that might help him find her. Most of their conversation however was about their childhood, and…the human. But he already checked the surface, and it was deserted.

'_But that's the thing, Neji…I don't have to be a mermaid, now do I?_' he recalled. It was impossible for her to not be a mermaid. _Unless…_ Then it hit him like a whale. She couldn't have possibly gone to that sea demon! Hinata couldn't possibly have been daring enough to go to that witchcraft practitioner. He couldn't take any chances, he had to make sure of it.

Neji's thoughts sunk into the darker area of his mind where he remembered his father's mutilated body floating atop the sea's surface, slowly sinking towards him. But then his father turned into Hinata – but she had legs. He scared himself sometimes, but at the moment, Hinata's actions scared him more.

* * *

Orochimaru lead Hinata to a dirty looking pearl. He gestured for her to look at the sphere which showed Sasuke with a couple that appeared to be his parents – his mother, Hinata noted, was absolutely _beautiful._ But across from him was an attractive pink haired girl with the prettiest green eyes she had ever seen.

"Your man isss engaged to marry Sssakura Haruno in four daysss for a treaty between the Uchiha kingdom and Sssenju kingdom." Orochimaru explained. Hinata was curious as to how he knew so much about Sasuke already. "I will turn you human for four daysss. If he doesssn't break off hisss engagement to be with you, the morning after they marry, you will disappear into sea foam."

Hinata remembered her mother telling her as a child that though humans had shorter lifespans than merfolk, they had eternal souls that could go on to places like heaven and hell, unlike their kind who only live to the age of three hundred before turning into sea foam and disappearing forever. Her mother had passed away at an early age after there was an attack on her by a guard gone rogue who wanted to overthrow the Hyuga monarchy. Hinata did want to live out the rest of her years – roughly two hundred and eighty two years – but thought of how she could be with her love for eternity even in death.

"If I become human, will I be given an eternal soul?" she asked. Orochimaru nodded.

"You will have two legsss that will let you danccce like no human hasss danccced before with the consssequenccce that it will be excruciatingly painful to do ssso. If you want to obtain the eternal sssoul, you will need true love'sss firssst kissss. It'll be then that he will sssplit his sssoul for you." This sounded all too good to be true regardless of the negatives like the painful dancing. She wouldn't even need to learn to walk – surely she would have the ability to walk if she could dance like no other. The smirk that spread across Orochimaru's face confirmed her worries – there was always a catch. "In exchange, you must give me your voiccce, and if you are to sssucced, all your memoriesss of the sssea will be erasssed ssso you bessst document your mossst important memoriesss."

Hinata fell silent – she'd have to get used to that, now wouldn't she? She was going to rely on her voice for him to recognize her. There was no way he'd be able to forget it, but without it she didn't know how she'd communicate that she was the one on the beach with him. She would be illiterate on the surface – the underwater alphabet was completely different from the one she knew – she wouldn't even be able to write to him. And then if she managed to make him love her, she would have to abandon all whom she loved back at home. She began to reconsider, her heart ached for Neji, Hanabi, and her father, but it also ached for Sasuke. She looked into the pearl once again to see Sakura beaming and clinging to Sasuke. Jealousy overtook Hinata's judgement. _She_ should be the one to be able to be with him like that. She would most definitely keep some sort of journal about her sea life during her four days on land because she was sure he would somehow remember her, and she was sure they were meant to be.

"Will I get my voice back, and will the dancing pain cease if I succeed in making him mine?" Hinata asked. Orochimaru just nodded with a wide grin. Hinata's fingers brushed the surface of the pearl, touching Sasuke's face. It was fate that they were united. He wouldn't give her his necklace otherwise, right? "I…I'll do it."

Orochimaru called for Kabuto who lead her into a room that was virtually dry with the exception of the water that she swam in to enter. There were many concoctions that both fascinated and terrified her. Waiting patiently, Kabuto began to mix the different colourful liquids that fizzed and smoked.

Neji on the other hand had almost made it to the lair. He could finally see the mouth of the cave. He absolutely would not let his cousin submit herself to the cruel magic of the sea serpent.

"Orochimaru!" Neji yelled into the cave inviting himself in. "Don't touch my cousin you freak!" Neji cringed at the sound of Orochimaru's deep cackle, he only hoped he wasn't too late.

Neji threw open every door in the hall and resisted the urge to vomit as he saw the lifeless corpses of his fellow mermen and mermaids, some more intact than others. Another gruesome thought ran through Neji's mind as he could only hear the screams of Hinata though the long hallway was completely silent.

Kabuto handed Hinata a purple solution in a shell – its disgusting stench and colour contrasted greatly with the prettiness of the shell which was a creamy yellow. Hinata's will was not broken though, and she would not let it break as she was sure it would if she kept staring at the purple potion. Holding her breath, she brought the shell to her lips and began to tip the drink into her mouth. Just as she finished, the door flew open and there stood Neji's whose eyes were wide with worry and terror as he watched his cousin begin to writhe in pain.

It was like she took a harpoon through her tail. She felt like she was being cut in half as if swords were trying to cut her tail into a set of legs. She couldn't contain her screams of agony, her lungs began to sting, and her eyes began to burn.

"What have you done to her?!" Neji yelled furiously.

Kabuto only smirked and pointed to the wriggling form that used to be the princess of the sea. Her legs were beginning to form as the scales fell, letting her tail bleed severely but in its place was flesh to match her torso. The fins at the end of the tail began forming toes as they evolved into feet. "You might want to bring her to the surface as soon as possible. Soon she won't be able to breathe under water, and the water pressure will kill her." Kabuto wasn't going to do it, that's for sure. If he had a choice, he would have left the girl to drown and get crushed by the pressure of the sea she wished to leave so much. His master said to make the potion but said nothing about bringing her to the surface.

Neji picked Hinata up and began to swim as fast as he could. He began to blame himself for not looking after her, and letting something like this happen. He should have known she would do something like this, but he didn't think quickly enough. He regretted giving in to her plea for the necklace which he didn't manage to find in Hiashi's office, and he regretted having long hair at the moment because Hinata was pulling at it as if she was trying to reach the surface to breathe – as if Neji was weighing her down and she was trying to be rid of him.

It was dark on the surface. Stars littered the sky, and the moon glowed eerily as Neji glared at the two limbs that had once been a beautiful lavender tail – one that had been the envy of all with its length, and shiny scales. She needed to be covered so he left her on the shore, swimming around looking for some sort of material to cover her with. Neji didn't know much about humans, but clothes were something they wore that Hinata didn't have. He swam a little deeper finding the fresh remains of a destroyed ship – a ship that had a sail, perfect to make a makeshift dress. He grabbed a sharp rock and a piece of broken ship with him as well.

Neji brought it back to Hinata and began wrapping it around her, tying the ends together at her shoulder. It wasn't extravagant like the ones he saw human females wear, but it'd have to do for now. He pushed her all the way on land, and let her lay on the warm sand so she wouldn't fall ill. He carved her name into the flank of wood with the rock – her name though he doubted that any of the humans would know how to read it.

Leaving his tail in the water but leaning against the shoreline, Neji slept next to his unconscious cousin. He held her cold pruney hand in his, and fell asleep wondering how he was going to explain this to Hiashi.

When the sun rose, Neji saw that Hinata had shifted in her sleep, a sign that she was indeed still alive. The sight of a ship approaching caught Neji's attention as it had been close enough for him to be seen. Giving Hinata a quick kiss on the forehead, he blasted himself into the sea so he wouldn't be caught.

Itachi Uchiha read up a lot on merfolk – mostly because his father had the Danzo Shimura's Under Water Discoveries collection. He was a skeptic, but there was no doubt that whoever that was couldn't have been human despite the top half of him being a handsome man with pale eyes and long brown hair, he had a long golden tail that majestically aided his quick swimming. He could see him almost perfectly through his expensive binoculars, but he could also see a girl on shore who looked similar to him, passed out but most definitely human.

_Interesting…_ Itachi thought, commanding his crew to drop the anchor immediately. He quickly hopped off the ship and kneeled by the girl dressed in rags. Itachi noticed a flank of wood with odd carvings that he could only assume was in a different language – but something he saw as familiar. Tucking it away in his inner coat pocket, he picked up the girl – he noted she was rather beautiful as well – and brought her back to the ship so that they could go back to the port all together.


	5. v itachi's discoveries

Thank you to all of my readers, reviewers, followers, and favouriters!

* * *

Everyone was confused as to why the usually composed and quiet Uchiha prince would suddenly begin to act up. Most assumed it was trauma from the attack that happened the day of his bachelor party whereas the few who believed otherwise were convinced he had snapped from not wanting to marry Sakura. There were few people who could deal with Sasuke when he was angry so they sent all four of those people since he was clearly in a furious state.

They didn't even bother to knock. Sasuke glared at the opening door that revealed his best friends. He turned away from them and just looked out his window that overlooked the sea. He saw a ship from the distance that he recognized to be Itachi's.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kiba asked slowly, worried that Sasuke would flip out. Sure Kiba was the Senju kingdom's lieutenant general for their ground force, but Sasuke Uchiha was known to be a genius in combat – hence why he was the Uchiha field marshal. Gaara on the other hand was the ruler and field marshal of the Desert kingdom leaving him basically fearless towards the Uchiha.

"There has to be a reason why we were called here, Uchiha." Gaara said monotonously. "There must be something wrong with you if all of us were called here."

Sasuke looked at all of his friends – they were the only people he could really trust. He motioned for them to shut and lock the door and directed them towards him with the arm that wasn't in an arm sling.

"That day you found me on the beach, I was saved." Sasuke started. "Whoever she was, she had the most beautiful voice I had ever heard, and I think I'm in love. I can't…I can't marry Sakura. I know I can't annul this, which is why I'm so frustrated, but I'm even more so frustrated by the fact that I can't find her. She just disappeared somewhere after you guys found me!"

His friends looked at him with worry etched onto their faces. "Sasuke, as much as we'd love to believe you, I think you just washed up on shore. It's impossible for you to have been saved by this mystery woman. We were in the middle of the sea, how would she have known you were on the ship, and how would she have gotten you onto shore – swim a good mile with you on her back?" Shikamaru said. "When we found you, you were surrounded by the rocky shore and the water. Unless she dove back into the sea, I doubt that she could have gotten away without us noticing. It doesn't make sense."

"Maybe you were a hallucinating, or seeing mirages?" Naruto suggested.

"I'm not making this up, guys!" Sasuke yelled, slamming his fist onto the bed. "I saw her! I was on her lap, and she sang to me!"

"You did _see _her, but she might not have _really_ been there…" Kiba trailed off noticing Sasuke breathing heavily.

Sasuke reached under his shirt and pulled out the necklace which shocked his friends. Sasuke never took off his Uchiha necklace let alone give it to someone. "See? She gave it to me!" Sasuke began to hyperventilate. No one ever saw him like this but his friends. "What do I do?" he asked weakly. Another first for their friends – never had they ever seen their friend in such a weak state.

"Uchiha, you don't even know this woman." Gaara pointed out. "How do you even know you _love_ her?" Gaara never understood love. Love killed people. Sure he loved his friends and family but he was much too used to keeping everyone at arm's length. Romantically attaching yourself to someone seemed too much of a burden to Gaara. Relying on someone else would be the downfall of him – well according to Gaara.

Sasuke couldn't even answer his friend. He knew he was right. What gave him the idea that he was even in love with the woman? He never even got her name, could barely see her, and relied only on the fact that he could hear her, and blurrily see her as colour blobs. Naruto sat on the edge of Sasuke's bed and put a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Sasuke, you need to forget this woman." Out of all the people to say this, it stunned everyone that it was Naruto. "You…you need to do it not only for the unison of Senju and Uchiha, but for Sakura. She loves you to death, and would do anything for you."

Sasuke shook off his friend's hand. "What about me, idiot?" Sasuke hissed. "Why must everyone's feelings be put on me? When have I ever cared how Sakura felt? I understand for the sake of Senju and Uchiha but if you're going to begin lecturing me on sparing others' feelings, take this into consideration; when has anyone taken _my_ feelings into consideration?"

"Sakura has!" Naruto argued.

"No she hasn't!" Sasuke yelled, causing his friends excluding Gaara to jump a little. "She only cares about being married to her beloved Sasuke and to become a fucking princess dammit!"

There was a knock at the door. "What?!" Sasuke yelled.

"Jesus, prince Sasuke, just let me in." said a female voice from the other side. "I'm here with your stupid tomato juice."

Sasuke sighed and pointed to the door. Shikamaru went and opened the door to see his childhood friend Ino at the door. Ino had moved to the Uchiha kingdom when they were only ten after her parents divorced. She left to live with her mother, a florist, while her father remained on Senju territory as the air force's general.

Sasuke shoved the necklace back under his shirt. "Sasuke." Ino acknowledged as she placed a tall glass of tomato juice onto his nightstand. "Sasuke's friends." Ino greeted before turning to leave.

"Same old Ino, huh?" Shikamaru asked. "No respect for her superiors."

Sasuke had let her get away with it solely because they had developed an odd friendship despite her old crush on him – she soon realized it was but puppy love. Ino warded off the females who tried to take pictures of him in his sleep and was one of the best mind readers Sasuke knew. She could read a person better than his own mother! Though for his mother, Sasuke was sure that was just motherly instinct. Ino found her mother's flower shop boring, and the Uchiha palace was full of good looking Uchiha men so Ino was quick to take Sasuke's job offer for her to become his and Itachi's personal assistant – she didn't like the title of personal maid.

"Oh hey, Itachi!" everyone heard Ino say loudly. Itachi acknowledged her which couldn't really be heard from Sasuke's room. His footsteps grew louder as he reached Sasuke's door which was left wide open – bad habit on Ino's part.

"Boys." Itachi said. "Sasuke, I'd like you to come meet someone."

"I'm not in the mood to meet _anyone_, Itachi." Sasuke barked.

"You never know, Sasuke, it might be your saviour princess!" Naruto joked earning him a rough smack to his head by all his friends. "Ow what the hell…oh." He had forgotten that the _saviour princess_ was supposed to be a secret.

Itachi's eyebrow rose with interest as he made a mental note of Naruto's outburst. "Come, she should wake at any moment. I got Ino to fetch her some clothing."

"Woah, it's a naked girl?!" Kiba beamed. It was Kiba's turn to be hit now.

Sasuke grunted a 'fine' and followed his brother and friends to the guest room down the hall. Itachi put a finger to his lips signalling for them to be quiet – well, for Kiba and Naruto to be quiet.

The men entered the room to see a mess of indigo hair splayed all over the creamy pillows and even on the matching comforter. The cream bed set made her fair skin glow. The room itself was rather plain – the colour scheme stayed cream, and white.

The girl definitely peaked Sasuke's interest. He was almost sure without a doubt that this was _her_. He had never seen anyone before with indigo hair – the closest it got to that was his mother's, and in some light, his own but that was more of a deep navy. Sasuke approached the unconscious girl carefully taking in her features; she was without a doubt breath taking with an almost inhuman beauty to her. The blankets were tucked under her chin, but Sasuke just had to see. If this girl really was her, she had to have his necklace – the necklace would confirm everything, or maybe even her voice.

Before he could even touch her, her eyes shot open revealing large round pale lilac tinted eyes. It took a few seconds for her to come out of her panic as she saw Sasuke's face, her face eased into a smile.

"No way…" Shikamaru mumbled. "She exists?"

Sasuke was overjoyed that she recognized him. That smile had to mean she knew him! She pushed herself up, Sasuke helped her making sure she wasn't hurt. She was dressed in a rag – but the rag was awfully familiar. Sasuke's eyes fell on her bare neck and frowned. The girl noticed his frown and brushed her hand over her neck and then brought her hand to his, pulling out the necklace – Sasuke was too shocked to move, really. She pointed to the necklace and pointed to herself.

"Hey bastard, does she want your necklace or something?" Naruto asked.

The girl opened her mouth to speak only to utter croak. Her face fell as well as Sasuke's. He took the necklace from her hands a rougher than intended, and left the room disappointed. The girl reached for him, but let her hand drop, bringing her hand to touch her neck.

"Don't worry, miss." Kiba said with a smile. "He's always like that – doesn't know how to treat a lady. I'm Kiba Inuzuka by the way."

"Yeah, that asshole has been being a baby recently anyways!" Naruto cried. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Shikamaru Nara." Shikamaru said simply, holding his hand out for her to shake. She looked at it for a moment, and just as he was about to draw his hand away, she took it with both of her hands and shook it.

"Gaara Sabaku." Gaara said, eyeing her from the door where he hadn't moved an inch. There was something oddly familiar about the rag she was wearing. He finally approached her and pulled off her blanket causing her to gasp. His fingers grazed the material on her thigh, bringing his finger under it to rub it between his forefinger and thumb. "Itachi I suggest you take a good look at these _rags_ she's wearing before you get rid of them."

Itachi nodded and looked to the frightened girl. "He won't hurt you." Itachi said as he went to pick up the flank of wood next to her bed. "Ah, how rude of me. My name is Itachi Uchiha, that other boy was Sasuke, my younger brother." He introduced himself, returning to staring at the wood. _Hmm…_ and then it hit him. He bade everyone farewell and headed to the Uchiha library.

"So what's your name?" Naruto asked.

"Idiot, she's mute, remember?" Shikamaru said.

"Well, if she's mute I guess she isn't that saviour princess girl person Sasuke was talking about." Kiba said sadly. "But at least she's a looker!"

The girl silently reached out for them as if to tell them something but they were out the door already.

* * *

Hinata awoke to see a dark set of eyes looking at her. She was shocked to say the least because she was laying on something awfully soft – nothing like she had ever felt before – and she was face to face with her prince already. The corners of her mouth pulled upwards as she gazed into his eyes which seemed to recognize her. Pushing herself up, she felt her heart flutter as he came to her aid.

And then she noticed the frown that had invaded his earlier warm appearance. She touched her neck and realized it was because she didn't have the necklace. She quickly reached for the necklace she was sure he'd be wearing – and to her relief he was wearing it – and pointed to it, then to herself.

"Hey bastard, does she want your necklace or something?" a blonde man asked.

Hinata tried to speak though she knew very well that nothing would come out of her. She was ready to cry once Sasuke pulled away harshly. Hinata reached out for him longingly but let her arm drop realizing he wouldn't turn back for her. She unconsciously traced the area where his necklace was once resting.

"Don't worry, miss." A brown haired boy said with a smile. He had very prominent canine teeth but the most distinct feature on his face had to be the triangular markings on his cheeks. "He's always like that – doesn't know how to treat a lady. I'm Kiba Inuzuka by the way."

"Yeah, that asshole has been being a baby recently anyways!" the blonde cried. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Shikamaru Nara." A black haired male said lazily. He held his hand out to her. Hinata looked at the large hand for a moment thinking about what to do. Where she came from, the girls just bowed. Trying to recall what her father and cousin did whenever they greeted new people, Hinata just gave up and held his hand in her small hands shaking it.

"Gaara Sabaku." A handsome redhead said. He was standing in the doorway, leaning against the door frame, analyzing her – his judgemental eyes sent chills down her spine. Hinata froze when he suddenly removed the blanket causing her to gasp. He touched her new leg, and it felt odd. He began feeling the cloth she was wearing – she didn't even know where it came from. "Itachi I suggest you take a good look at these _rags_ she's wearing before you get rid of them."

Was she in trouble?

"He won't hurt you." Reassured a man who resembled Sasuke with the exception of his deep eye bags and long hair. He picked up a piece of wood, and Hinata saw her name etched onto it. "Ah, how rude of me. My name is Itachi Uchiha, that other boy was Sasuke, my younger brother." So that's why he looked like Sasuke. Itachi seemed to rush out of the room abruptly without explanation taking the wood with him. Hinata could faintly hear the men discuss something but she wasn't paying attention – she thought of her home under the sea, of her family, and of Sasuke.

"…she isn't that saviour princess girl person Sasuke was talking about." Kiba said sadly. "But at least she's a looker!"

Hinata was taken aback that they knew of her! She reached out to them trying to call to them, to tell them it was her. But they were already heading out. Sighing she slid down onto her back. How was she going to get Sasuke to notice her as the one who saved him?

A knock at the door drew her attention away from her thoughts. A beautiful girl came into her room holding clothes in her arms. She had platinum blonde hair with eyes that reminded her of the water surrounding her favourite part of the sea – light blue that seemed to sparkle from how clear and clean it was.

"Hi there girly, I'm Ino Yamanaka!" the girl said with a grin. "You're awfully beautiful, has anyone told you that?" Of course they have. She was a princess after all, but Hinata still blushed as she felt inferior in beauty compared to Ino.

Hinata touched her throat and tried to speak showing her muteness so that Ino wouldn't think of her as stuck up for not answering her. Ino looked at her sadly but quickly smiled patting her shoulder.

"Well, if you don't mind, I'm a chatterbox. So if I start annoying you, you have every right to throw a pillow at me!" Hinata laughed silently at Ino – perhaps she would be her first land friend.

Ino helped Hinata get dressed into an ankle length light cream kimono that had a lavender obi that matched the lavender cherry blossoms that decorated the sleeves and the bottom of the kimono. The inside layer of the kimono that peaked out of the collar and sleeves was a vibrant red that contrasted against the light colours of the overall kimono.

"I hope you don't mind that I measured you in your sleep. We're about the same size except you've got a larger bust and you're slightly shorter." Ino explained, making sure everything was secure. "No big deal, right? We just loosen the top and it'll be a little longer on you than me! There, you look fantastic!"

* * *

"You wanted her old rag, Itachi?" Ino asked, giving the old fabric to Itachi. Itachi silently thanked and dismissed Ino as he carefully opened up the cloth that was once the girl's clothing.

"What in the world…" Itachi looked at the torn piece of cloth astonished. What was this girl doing wearing a piece of the Uchiha ship's sail? He wondered, touching the red and white parts that once made up the Uchiha fan that was but just the side. No one would have noticed since she wore the fan part on the inside, but Gaara was right when he felt the material – his brother was after all an expert craftsman of traditional Japanese clothing. It wouldn't make sense for a commoner girl to have a cloth of such high quality wrapped around her.

Itachi carefully rolled the cloth and pulled out the last book of Danzo Shimura's Under Water Discoveries collection. Quickly heading to his own room, he began doing some research – looking at languages first.


	6. vi rehearsal dinner

Second update just 'cause I felt like it.

* * *

Hinata wandered around the halls, adapting to her new set of legs. Something drew her to a large set of doors. They seemed to lead to a grand room but she wasn't sure if she should intrude. Taking a deep breath, Hinata knocked but there was no answer. She curiously pulled the handle down to open one of the two doors. The first thing she saw was an enormous set of glass doors that lead to a balcony that gave her a beautiful view of the sea.

Ignoring all consequence, Hinata quietly ran over to the balcony and looked out, taking in the scent of the sea that she missed already. It was rather windy that afternoon but she didn't mind at all – she preferred the breeze over any kind of humid weather. Lucky for her it was spring.

The sound of a groan coming from the bed by the balcony caught Hinata off guard. She carefully tiptoed over to the bed to see Sasuke asleep, sprawled out under his blankets – she didn't know how she could have missed the sight earlier.

She knelt down next to his bed observing his features. Her fingers traced down his forehead to the length of his nose down to where his lips were slightly parted, the faint sound of snoring coming from those same perfectly shaped lips. Sasuke turned over onto his side surprising Hinata causing her to fall back with her hands supporting her from behind.

Sasuke's eyes shot open with sleep still clouding his vision. He saw indigo, and cream colour blurbs and got up to rub the sleep away.

"Oh, it's you." He said gruffly. "Uh…sorry about earlier."

Hinata stood up and smiled up at him. He was so tall; the top of her head only reached his chin. Sasuke felt himself soften. She didn't do anything to him and yet he had lashed been so rude to her – well, no one else really did anything to aggravate him either. There was something about this unnamed girl that made him want to smile.

Sasuke stared at her smiling face and returned a smile to her – something he rarely ever did. Even if she wasn't the one who saved him, something inside of him was compelling him to get to know the mute beauty.

His smile gave her hope. She held her hand out flat and used the other to do writing motions with her finger on her flat hand. Sasuke walked over to his nightstand and pulled out some paper and a pen. Hinata took the stationary and bowed in thanks to the handsome young Uchiha prince. A voice in Sasuke's mind told him he should remember that he was still an engaged man to be married for the sake of peace, but the warmth that was melting his ice block of a heart pushed the thought out of his mind.

* * *

Hiashi clenched the arm of his throne. His eyes were clamped shut, his face was contorted with fury and pain, and his heart ached. But no matter how much hate he felt for his daughter in that moment for turning into one of _them_, she was still his daughter, and he couldn't ignore that. He wanted so badly to despise and disown his daughter, but he couldn't. Hiashi finally opened his eyes to look at his nephew. He needed someone to blame, but looking at Neji reminded him of his caring twin brother – the one that he failed. To this day, Hiashi blamed himself for the death of Hizashi though he outwardly blamed humans. Had he not lost the necklace, Hizashi would have never swum to the surface.

"I'm sorry, uncle." Neji said shakily. "I was too late…"

The same words Hiashi had said to his father when they found Hizashi's mutilated corpse slowly sinking towards them during their search party. Neji was surprised to see Hiashi crying. The king of the sea was crying. No one had seen him cry since the death of his brother which was only a few years after the death of his wife.

Hinata was the last reminder he had left of his wife. He had failed everyone that he loved, but he didn't know what to do anymore. If he was overbearing to Hanabi like he had been with Hinata, would she run away as well? He was a failure as a king, a husband, a brother, and as a father.

Neji expected to get scolded and even half-expected to be disowned for failing the kingdom. Seeing his uncle cry over Hinata going AWOL made him realize Hiashi cared for his daughter more than he let off. Hiashi got off his throne and grabbed his trident.

"Lord Hiashi, what are you doing?" Neji asked.

"I'm going to destroy that god damn sea serpent once and for all!" Hiashi roared.

"We don't know what could happen to Hinata after that though!" Neji yelled. He had never raised his voice against his uncle, but he had to. He didn't know what deal Hinata made with the old sea snake but he knew for one thing that Hinata would be in danger if they didn't know all the details of the deal before ridding themselves of the Orochimaru.

Hiashi was taken aback by Neji's tone, but calmed down realizing that he was right.

Neither was aware that Hanabi was listening to their whole conversation holding her mouth so that she wouldn't make a sound. She swam away quickly. At twelve years old, Hanabi was already considered a prodigy – well, nowhere near Neji's level but very intelligent regardless. She needed to calm down and figure out how she would get her sister back. Without her sister there, Hanabi felt lonely. No one else would ever understand what it felt like to be the daughter of Hiashi Hyuga. No one else would ever take the time to listen to her problems, and comfort her using their mother's tactics. There would be no one left for Hanabi if Hinata wasn't there for her.

Hanabi shut the door behind her in Hinata's room and went to her bed, curling up in her sister's giant clam shell. The little mermaid wept silently for her sister who she missed so much. Hanabi had never spent more than a few hours away from Hinata, and there was so much to tell her too!

"Please come home, Hinata…" Hanabi sobbed to herself.

* * *

Hinata sat on the white wooden chair thinking about where to start with her journal. A pang in her chest made her think of her little sister. Her tears followed soon after thinking of the young mermaid who she knew depended on her so much. Hinata rubbed her eyes but the tears wouldn't stop as she realized how selfish she was. She left her family for a man that may never recognize her. Taking deep breaths, Hinata dabbed her face with the sleeves of the kimono and began to write deciding to take different pages for different topics – she started with Hanabi.

The sky began to darken as Hinata finished up her portion about her father – she had already completed Hanabi's and Neji's parts already. Itachi entered her room silently.

"What are you writing?" he asked looking down at the pages covered in squiggles and shapes. Hinata opened her mouth, but shut it again reminding herself that she no longer had a voice. "Your name, it is…Hina…ta?"

Hinata nodded and smiled at him, but her smile quickly fell. How did he know? The wood flank? How would a human know how to read that? Itachi held up a book and handed it to her.

"I marked the page that will help you read." He said with a smile. Hinata was taken aback, how did a human get a hold of this information? "We're having a party for Sasuke and Sakura's marriage, and as our honoured guest, I would like to cordially invite you on behalf of the Uchiha kingdom." Itachi said with an exaggerated bow. Hinata let out a breathy giggle.

"I'm glad I amuse you." Itachi said. "Ino will be in shortly to help you get changed."

"Oh, and Hinata, your secret is safe with me." Itachi said with a smile. Hinata wondered if the Uchiha brothers were aware that they were so similar.

Hinata looked at the book in her hands and opened it to the page Itachi had marked for her. She couldn't read the notes that were written in human English, and didn't want to really bother with it either. She would instead just learn the alphabet so that she could read. Her learning was interrupted as Ino entered the room loudly – as usual – with a gown in her arms and hair curlers rolled in her hair.

"Oh, Hina – I hope I can call you that, Itachi told me your name earlier – this dress is so beautiful! You're so lucky to wear it." Ino said in a daze. "Sasuke himself asked to have it made! Who knew that duck butt would be nice to a guest? I guess he has grown…anyways, and then Itachi specifically chose the colours!"

Ino helped Hinata out of her kimono and continued to ramble on about everything as she helped the mute ex-mermaid into the dress. Hinata went towards a mirror but was stopped by Ino who shook her pretty blonde head. "I want you to be wowed when you see yourself!" Hinata nodded and let Ino do her hair and makeup taking much care to little details.

Looking over to make sure the door was closed; Ino began putting on finishing touches. "You know, Sakura was my best friend when I used to live in the Senju kingdom. Through everything even when we both liked Sasuke, we still had each other's backs. After her engagement with Sasuke she said we couldn't be friends anymore. Said I was too much of a commoner for her since she was to become the Uchiha princess, and that she was too important to be my friend now." Despite the hatred and spite in her voice, Hinata could hear sorrow behind Ino's words.

Once Ino was done, she brought Hinata to the full body mirror so that both could admire Ino's artistry. Hinata had to admit she looked gorgeous, like she was a princess again. Her hair was braided over her head to form a crown, her straight bangs were left down with locks that framed her heart shaped face, while the rest of her hair was wound into a messy tousled bun on the back of her head – a unique contrast to the put together look she had in front. Her torso was tightly bound in a gold coloured corset that was decorated with jewels and lace while the ribbon holding everything together behind her was white. The skirt of the dress was long done in beautiful drapery.

Hinata hugged Ino tightly to thank her. She pointed to Ino's head of hair curlers then to herself. "You're offering to help me, Hina?" Ino asked, bewildered.

Hinata nodded. "Well, I trust you with my head, take care of it! We don't have much time so I'll quickly do my makeup after my hair's done."

The sea princess didn't know how to work the hair curlers but assumed she was supposed to take them out since Ino looked rather silly with the large purple tubes on her head. She worked her nimble fingers through the now curly hair – Ino's hair was as long as her own, if not longer. Hinata stopped and turned Ino around to face her. Ino was confused, she couldn't have possibly been done already, she just started. Hinata pointed to her dress then to Ino's body.

"Put my dress on first?" Hinata nodded. "Well duh, Ino! God I completely forgot!" Ino said, hitting herself on the head.

A few minutes later, Ino returned in a Russian violet sleeveless ball gown with a sweetheart neckline. It was very simple with just a little bit of embroidery where the bodice ended and the skirt began of violets done in light lavender thread. Hinata almost felt jealous of Ino who seemed to make something so simple look so elegant.

Hinata made her way to Ino to restart – she wanted to simplify the hairstyle she had in mind to match the dress. Her fingers took Ino's long uncurled bangs and began to braid them into her hair away from her face so that it showed the girl's face. Ino's hair was pulled to one side and done in a tied into a low side ponytail onto her right shoulder with some hair wrapped around the tie to hide it. Hinata always loved to tie Hanabi's hair whenever her sister would rant to her.

Ino was once again worried as to why her hair was done in such a short amount of time. However, once she looked into the mirror, she clapped her hands and hugged Hinata. She loved the simplicity of the hairstyle and the way it showed off her face.

"Hina, I can even do my makeup now!" she cheered. "Thank you so much!" Hinata smiled at her…friend. She would like to acknowledge Ino as her friend that was for sure.

The two women went down to the carriage where Itachi was waiting for them. "Sasuke has headed to the venue first with Sakura in their coach. Shall we, ladies?" Both nodded and got into the wooden carriage with Itachi.

* * *

The location was beautiful and castle-like. Hinata followed Ino and Itachi into the castle where the lights shone down on them.

"Announcing the arrival of master Itachi Uchiha, and company Ino Yamanaka and…" the man looked confused. Who in the world was that? Itachi whispered her name to him. "Hinata."

Itachi descended first followed by Hinata who wasn't used to high heels and wobbled a bit going for the railing. She felt someone hold onto her arm. Hinata looked to see Sasuke next to her looking as dashing as ever. "Need some help, _Hinata_?" The sound of her name out of his mouth sent her into a blushing frenzy. She had longed for this as well that he would be able to freely call her by her name without formalities like others under the sea would always use.

Hinata nodded. Sasuke held his arm out, and Hinata took his strong forearm in her small hand.

Sakura was jealous to say the least. When she and Sasuke descended the stairs, he stood at the other side of the staircase. Why did this stranger get special treatment? She had never seen this woman ever in her life. She looked over to Ino but reminded herself that she cut ties with her already. The pinkette would make other friends, _elite_ friends.

"They look pretty cute together, don't you think?" Ino asked Sakura once she noticed her ex-best friend looking at her.

"Sasuke's mine." Sakura asserted. "He was just being a gentleman since she was struggling. You just want to instigate something because you're jealous you never got him."

Ino rolled her eyes. "Please, I don't want prince pain in the ass. Oh, and he probably likes me a whole lot better than _you_. Don't forget, Sakura. He became my friend by choice. He's only marrying you for the sake of the two kingdoms."

Disbelief and anger bubbled in Sakura as she watched the beautiful blonde walk away. Somewhere inside of her, she regretted breaking her friendship with Ino. Ino gave her the confidence she never had, and stood up for her when she got bullied – resulting in getting bullied herself in return for protecting the young Sakura. Ino had even forgiven her after the first time she disowned her as a friend, but Sakura knew there was going to be no forgiveness this time.

And she was fine with that. As long as she got her Sasuke. But the only thing she saw standing in between her and Sasuke was the exotic looking stranger that her fiancé had personally gone to fetch.


	7. vii jealousy is unbecoming of you

She could die happy right at this moment. It felt as if _they_ were the ones marrying rather than Sasuke marrying Sakura. Hinata felt all eyes on her when she made it to the bottom of the staircase. And then, her fantasy ended. Hundreds of guests stared in awe at the stunning couple, they appeared to suit each other much more than the prince and the pinkette – though, no one would voice these opinions aside from Ino.

"Who is _that_?" asked a redhead with her hair tied into an elegant bun resting atop her pretty head. "Mikoto, I thought your son was marrying Tsunade's apprentice."

Mikoto Uchiha sighed at her best friend's remark. It was true that Sasuke was to be wedded off to the Senju leader's student but it was all her husband's doing! After seeing her son run to aid the wobbling girl, she realized that it had been a mistake to agree with Fugaku on the union by marriage. She always believed that her youngest son would never find love – he never showed any interest in the girls around him, not even that pretty Yamanaka girl.

"I don't know who that is." Mikoto said. "And yes, Kushina, Sasuke is engaged to Sakura."

"Well if she's available, I just found the perfect suitor for my Naruto!" Kushina cheered. "Look at that, she's already getting used to the shoes! So she's smart too!"

Jealousy was an ugly colour on Mikoto Uchiha. She wished her son could freely choose who he wanted to marry. And by the way he had been so quick to go to the mystery girl – Hinata she remembered her name to be – she was sure he had developed feelings for her. It was a mother's instinct. Kushina noticed her best friend's disdain for her remark. She wasn't upset, no, she understood. She would be pretty peeved if her son was forced into a loveless marriage. Everyone knew that Sasuke got the attention of many women but never had _he_ ever showed any interest or care for them.

There was much mingling to be done, so Mikoto and Kushina made their way towards Itachi who was currently giving Hinata a pair of flat shoes so that she wouldn't trip.

"Hello dear, may I ask who this young lady is?" Mikoto asked her oldest son.

"Oh, good evening mother. Good evening, Lady Kushina." Itachi bowed. "This is Hinata, the girl I told you about – the one we found washed up on shore when I arrived this morning."

Kushina gasped. What could have possibly happened to the poor girl for her to have been left by the sea that way? Mikoto just nodded and smiled at the girl.

Hinata recognized the dark haired woman to be Sasuke's mother. How she longed to be able to call someone mother again, and she wouldn't mind if it was the woman before her, not at all.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Hinata." Mikoto said. "I am Mikoto Uchiha, Sasuke and Itachi's mother."

"And I'm Kushina Uzumaki!" Kushina introduced herself loudly, but that's just the way Kushina always was – loud. "Mother of Naruto Uzumaki."

It surprised Hinata that this was Naruto's mother. They looked nothing really alike – though their personalities were exactly the same.

"Good evening mother." Sasuke chimed in. "Good evening, Lady Kushina. I was just wondering if I could borrow Hinata for the first dance of the evening."

The tradition was that the bride and groom would share the final dance of the evening – in front of everyone – to save the best for last as some would address the matter. Though Hinata was aware of what she would feel if she danced, she assumed – hoped – that it wouldn't be so bad. Hinata wanted to dance with Sasuke, the first dance; it would be special for her, for the both of them.

Kushina nudged Mikoto discreetly and just nodded. "Go ahead, she's all yours!"

Sasuke held out his hand, and Hinata took it gently in her own. Neither had even noticed that people were clearing the path for them – they only noticed each other – as Sasuke lead her to the center of the dance floor. His free hand rested on her lower back while hers went to his shoulder, their other hands still entwined at the fingers.

The orchestra began to play, prompting the pair to begin. In Hinata's world, there was no one there but her and Sasuke. They floated gracefully across the dance floor. Hinata held back her tears as the feeling of knives being driven through her feet began to kick in. The dance seemed to last forever, and Hinata did wish for it to continue. She was sure at some point that there really were knives in her feet, or that perhaps she was barefoot as they danced across a bed of needles and pins.

Entranced was the word that Sasuke came up with to describe himself. He was entranced by the way Hinata danced and though he wasn't usually a fan of dancing, he wanted to keep on going if it meant dancing with her. He let go of her back and brought her to him, then twirled her out. She was fluid like water, without a step out of place. He didn't even notice his fiancé's jealous glare, nor did he hear the compliments they received or that everyone else had halted their dancing to watch them. Sakura was furious. _Everyone_ was to dance, they should only give the spotlight such as this one when it was her turn to dance with Sasuke.

The urge to laugh was building in Ino. Watching Sakura fume at the dancing duo was priceless. She had found a friend in Hinata and not only because she listened – as if the poor girl had a choice – but because she could sense it. She was the type that could read a person well, and quite frankly she wasn't surprised that Sakura had abandoned their friendship because that's the type of person Sakura is – some would say, an elitist. But there was something supernatural about the way Hinata danced. It was something she hadn't seen before, she wished she could capture the moment right then and there because the pair looked so elegant, and breathtaking. It was disappointing when the music stopped briefly to show it was time to change partners. Sasuke was clearly hesitant to let go, and there was a lineup of men just waiting to dance with Hinata.

Sasuke had decided he wanted to sit out on dancing until he absolutely _had_ to with Sakura at the end. Perhaps he'd get up again if he got the chance to dance with Hinata but it seemed unlikely at this rate with the amount of people waiting to dance with her. Her next partner to his surprise was Itachi. The Uchiha brothers had been coached on dancing since a young age – something that all nobles should know how to do. Itachi was slightly better than Sasuke, the younger Uchiha would admit but he felt he suited Hinata much more than his older brother. It could be jealousy speaking for him at the moment but then again Sasuke didn't care.

"Sasuke, aren't you excited for our dance?" Sakura asked, breaking him from his thoughts. "Everyone will be looking at us – it'll be our time to shine as a couple!"

His attention quickly diverted back to Hinata. He got to feel how it felt to dance with her, but watching her was something he didn't know would captivate him so much. He felt blessed to have been able to experience dancing with her.

Sakura stormed off to the ladies' room. How dare he so freely look at another woman in her presence! She pulled out her powder and dabbed her nose, only looking away from her reflection when she heard the sound of the doors opening.

"Pig." Sakura addressed venomously.

"Fivehead." Ino retorted. Ino really wasn't there to pick a fight. She just needed to use the restroom. "I'd love to tell you that you look fantastic since it's your night, but have some modesty would you?"

"This coming from _you_." Sakura hissed. Ino wasn't modest about her body whatsoever, and both women were plenty aware of the fact. Sakura wore a shimmering red silk halter dress that swooped low past her bosom in a cowl type of fashion. It was floor length with the back dipping low to her tailbone. Her long pink hair was wound at the top of her head with her usual face framing locks pulled back with the help of a sparkling tiara. She looked magnificent really and no one could deny it – though she wasn't curvaceous like Ino or Hinata, she was lean and slim with a pretty face.

Ino snorted. "Don't flaunt what you don't have." She said, pointing to the bride-to-be's chest. Sakura was stupefied watching the blonde enter the large stall – the women's stalls were always much larger because of their usually large dresses.

* * *

Hinata needed to sit. She couldn't take the pain any longer, but more and more people lined up to dance, and she couldn't refuse. It was difficult to say no when no one can hear you. Before another person could ask her to dance, Hinata quickly pointed to a table of food. The man took the hint and let her indulge herself.

Something was off about Hinata – that much Itachi could tell. She looked like she was in so much pain as she danced despite her forced smile. Her attempts at escape proved futile until he noticed she spotted the food table. It hit him that she would be terrified at the sight of the food. Since the Uchiha kingdom was so close to the sea, it was without a doubt that the menu would most definitely be…

Seafood.


	8. viii a friend in need

DUN DUN DUUNNNN I have returned with a chapter full of scandal for all of you. Oh, and plenty of Sasuhina moments!

You may proceed.

* * *

Her stomach growled indicating hunger. Hinata was interested in what humans ate, and she was aware that they ate fish and her little friends from under the sea. She was a vegetarian as some would say as she refused to eat any of the beings that she associated herself with. Having never personally seen the actual prepared food, she was slightly worried about what she would find.

A hand gripped her wrist and pulled her back. Hinata looked up to see Itachi smiling at her. She returned the kind smile and shook him off.

"You might not like what you see…" he warned gravely. It did make her waver but she shrugged it off. How bad could it be? She sometimes saw her father and Neji eating fish. Human preparations couldn't be that bad. It was eaten the same way in some form of salad, right? How else would one eat seafood?

He could prevent this whole thing, but he supposed she might need the experience since she became human.

Hinata saw some colorful food, some greens she thought to be seaweed and some other interestingly shaped foods. Nothing abnormal, if anything, the plating was dazzling to Hinata who had never seen anything of the sort. Then she choked. Was that…a crab? Who in their right mind would want to eat these kind creatures?! She picked one up cautiously like it would poison her – which she was sure it would – only to feel it was hot and see the other side was hollow and dripping with juices. If the mermaid princess could scream, she would have as she threw the dead creature drawing everyone's attention.

Baby squids, little shrimp, and dear lord was that a…sword fish?! Holding her mouth in disgust, Hinata ran from the table causing quite the scene as tears fled from her horrified eyes. How could they just display her little friends in such a manner? The poor creatures probably had no idea that this would happen to them!

"Hinata, calm down." Itachi said, pulling her to him. "I told you that you might not like what you see, didn't I?"

The girl calmed herself down resting her head against Itachi's chest, breathing heavily, her tears continued to fall. He stroked her hair soothingly and waited for her to calm down.

Meanwhile the young Uchiha prince watched the pair furiously. How dare his brother hold her in such a manner! Has he no shame in…Sasuke stopped himself. Hinata was in no way shape or form his, and his brother had every right to pursue a woman such as her. Jealousy fueled his anger as he stood from his seat next to Sakura. A soft hand grabbed his but he shook it off harshly, surprising his fiancé.

"What is going on here, Itachi?" Sasuke hissed. Hinata looked up revealing her tear stained face – makeup ruined, and eyes swollen. Sasuke's features softened.

"She had a seafood scare." Itachi said simply. "She isn't accustomed to our food I suppose. Ino will take her home and get her cleaned up. You on the other hand have the final dance to do with Sakura."

Itachi wanted what was best for Sasuke. He could tell just by the way Sasuke couldn't take his eyes off Hinata that he didn't want to go through with the marriage. He was aware that his brother didn't have any objections to marrying Sakura seeing as he didn't have any options – not until the sudden appearance of the mute mystery girl. Itachi was an observant man, one who would make his brother realize the grave mistake he would make if he didn't put an effort in trying to stop this wedding.

* * *

Hinata patted the space next to her on the large bed. She was used to having Hanabi stay with her on some nights, and with the scare she had earlier that night, she really needed company.

"You want me to stay, Hina?" Ino asked, putting the dress away in the grand wardrobe. Hinata nodded. "I'd love to, but I'll need to tell my mother first so just wait here, alright?" She nodded again and watched as her friend ran out of the room. It would take her a while to get out of the enormous palace, so Hinata went to the desk and grabbed the book Itachi gave her to study the English alphabet. She grabbed a pen and paper, and began writing a little something to Ino. Completing the task, she went back to writing her journal.

Half an hour later, the door opened and Hianta turned expecting Ino.

"Have I woken you?" Sasuke asked, closing the door behind him. Hinata shook her head no. She noticed he was holding a silver platter with a cover over the top. "You didn't eat. I thought you might want something. It's chicken so you needn't worry."

_Chicken?_ Hinata wondered what that was, but didn't complain as he lifted the lid to reveal soup.

"Uh, chicken noodle soup." Sasuke said sheepishly. "I don't really know how to cook, and this seemed the easiest since it was in a can. It's not anything made by our chefs but I tried to make it appear nicer than it is."

Hinata took the tray and placed it on the desk. She took Sasuke's hands and smiled up at him giving her an adorable sight as the Uchiha's cheeks flushed pink. Her lips found his cheek. They were soft against his smooth skin. She took her finger and hesitantly traced words onto his arm.

"Thank…you." He said aloud. How he wished that she was her saviour from the other night. It was useless for him to continue searching, but he had to be sure. Yet, some part of him didn't even want to look for her anymore as he had someone so perfect in front of him. Regardless, he was afraid. He would never admit it, but Sasuke Uchiha was scared.

He grew up with all the luxuries anyone would die to have. Annulling the marriage might strip him of everything he was used to; he couldn't dishonour his parents either. Sasuke Uchiha for the first time in his life was afraid. He wasn't afraid when his father had scolded him when he was six for misplacing his Uchiha necklace. He wasn't afraid as he plummeted to his near death after the attack on his ship. But straying from his lifestyle, losing everything he had, and failing his parents terrified him right in this moment.

"What is it about you that is so damn captivating?" he asked harshly. His anger wasn't directed at Hinata but himself. He gripped her shoulders firmly. "What do I do? Please, just tell me what to do…" Hinata was confused. Why was he asking her? What was he talking about?

Her hands made their way to his cheeks and held his face to face her. She wasn't sure what to say to him. He was to be married, she felt somewhat guilty that she was trying to ruin a marriage, and yet she wanted to comfort him in his time of frustration. She mouthed something to him slowly and smiled. That damn smile of hers that made him want to give everything up for her. He couldn't though, could he? She was a stranger. He only met her earlier today, so what about her enchanted him so much? Her touch sent pleasant tingles throughout his body, her smile warmed his frigid heart, and her dancing…he could go on forever just holding her.

Just once. He'd do it only once because he's selfish. He would bring her hopes up, only to have them be thrown down a hundred stories because he was selfish and couldn't give anything up for a stranger. A stranger who he couldn't help but be captivated by, one that made him wish that for once, he wasn't so selfish. He would be wed in three days, but just once wouldn't hurt.

"I'm sorry." Was all he said.

Hinata's heart rate accelerated as Sasuke leaned in closer to her face. He was so tall, and towered over her. She closed her eyes waiting for true love's first kiss.

"Hina!" Ino called from the other side of the door. The two pulled away from each other in a haste, completely red from the almost encounter. "Oh hey, Sauce-Gay. What're you doing here?"

Sasuke ignored her and left hiding his red face.

* * *

Ino stood quietly on the other side of the door. She quickly hid herself when she noticed Sasuke was ahead of her walking to Hinata's room with a silver tray. She had heard everything, and her heart broke. It hurt her that this was happening.

No, Ino wasn't jealous of Hinata. Well yes, she was. She was jealous that she could find someone who could love her so instantly without question. In no way was she at all jealous of the attention she got from the prince. It hurt Ino that Hinata would be hurting. She didn't know the girl very well, but Hinata had given her friendship that she longed for since Sakura's abandonment. She listened to her rambles, and though Ino reasoned that it was because she couldn't speak up, she knew that Hinata was genuinely curious about what she had to say.

Hinata in no way deserved to have her heart broken in such a way. And yet, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her old friend. He never cared for any woman in his life aside from his mother. Ino wanted to blame this whole tragic love story on Sakura – how she longed to let all blame fall on the pinkette. But she knew it was up to Sasuke.

Why was Sasuke apologizing? She couldn't let anything get out of hand. It was too soon.

"Hina!" she called. She needed to find a way to help, and she knew exactly who to turn to. "Oh hey, Sauce-Gay. What're you doing here?"

Ino wasn't stupid. Of course she noticed his flushed face. "Let's get this slumber party started!" she cheered. Hinata held Ino's arm and lead her to the desk handing her a sheet of paper with carefully written words on the sheet. There wasn't much, but it was enough to bring the overly emotional Yamanaka to tears.

_Thank you for being my friend, Eno. I hope I can become your best friend like Sakura. _

"Oh, Hina! Of course!" she said with a shaky voice. "Hun, my name starts with an 'I' but thank you!"

* * *

"Ino, your beauty continues to marvel me even this early in the morning." Naruto charmed cheesily. Ino smacked him across the head. He always seemed to choose the girls that enjoyed abusing him.

"What're you doing in here, idiot?" Ino asked groggily. She had spent a late night with Hinata just talking. "Shouldn't you be throwing yourself all over your best friend's fiancé?"

While it was true that Naruto had a long time crush on Sakura, he had been captivated by the florist's daughter the moment she stood against Sasuke. He rethought everything that he had thought of his childhood friend. Not really, he found Sakura was still gorgeous, intelligent and close to perfect, but Ino was so much _more_. But with a harassment record like Naruto's, it was no wonder that Ino found it hard to believe that he'd suddenly stop liking Sakura.

"I came to find _you_ of course, my sweet! I couldn't find you at the flower shop, and your mom said you came here." Hinata got up rubbing her eyes. Naruto's loud banter had woken her up. "Good morning, Hinata!"

Word had spread about Hinata after the dancing done from the previous night and she had become quite the suitor attracter since then. She smiled at Naruto and rolled out of bed nearly crashing to the floor if Ino hadn't grabbed her arm.

"Time to get up!" Naruto yelled. He scooped Ino up in his arms bridal style and kidnapped her elsewhere leaving Hinata alone to get ready.

She dressed in her kimono and walked around searching for where she was supposed to go.

"Hey you." Hinata turned to see Sakura standing in all her red dressed beauty. Her hair was left down, and she wore a long sleeveless red qipao dress with slits on each side of the skirt area that reached her mid thighs revealing her jade green tight shorts.

Hinata blinked but bowed. "Do you not speak?" she asked. Hinata shook her head. "You don't need to speak anyways. I have but one request from you. Leave the Uchiha kingdom, you aren't welcome here. You are but a burden to Itachi-nii-sama, and Sasuke-kun."

Her words didn't hurt Hinata. Hinata wouldn't let her faze her. "If you choose to be stubborn, I will have you personally extracted from _my_ kingdom." Hinata put her hands on her hips and raised a brow at the pinkette. _Her_ kingdom? She wasn't even married to Sasuke yet, and she was getting cocky already.

"Sakura." Sakura turned with wide eyes as Sasuke made his way up the stairs. "The Uchiha kingdom is in no way shape or form yours, nor will it ever be. I'd appreciate it if you weren't so rude to my guest. You may leave. Hinata, come along, I have something to show you."

"But Sasuke…" his glare stopped her from continuing any further. She watched with hostility as he held his arm out for Hinata, helping her down the stairs. "Don't I look nice today…? What's so special about her? She can't even speak!" she grumbled under her breath.

"You know, maybe he'd like you a lot more if you weren't a clingy hostile bitch."

"No one asked you, Ino." Sakura would recognize her voice anywhere.

"You should just call off this whole wedding while Sasuke can still tolerate you." Ino said snidely.

"What, so you can hook him up with the mute wench?" Sakura hissed. The sound of a loud _smack_ resounded.

"You don't know Hina." Ino said angrily. "The only wench here is you. Take my advice, _Sakura_. Do Sasuke and yourself a favour by calling this off. There are other ways of forming a treaty between Senju and Uchiha. Sasuke doesn't need to force himself to marry you just because you're an obsessive clingy freak!"

Ino turned towards the stairs. Hate boiled in Sakura's veins as she shoved her ex-best friend harshly down the stairs and turned away before noticing a meek little servant girl had seen the whole incident. Sakura made her way to the quivering girl with malice laced in her voice as she spoke.

"Tell anyone, and you will become the reason Uchiha and Senju go to war." The girl nodded and ran away with tears in her eyes.

* * *

The blonde searched frantically for Ino. "Ino! I'm sorry if I offended you honey bunch! I promise I'll make my compliments a hundred times sappier just for you, my violet in a field of weeds!"

He went down the stairs and stopped staring in horror as he recognized the twisted body in the middle of the long staircase. Her unconscious body lost balance and fell a few more steps before Naruto caught her. He nestled her blonde head against the crook of his neck and picked her up like he had earlier.

He ran out the door and tried to hail a carriage only to fail as he decided he'd just run to the hospital.

* * *

"This is the ballroom." Sasuke said, motioning around the room as he lead Hinata to a little table. "And this is breakfast."

Hinata mouthed a thank you and struggled to cut through her toast with her knife. Sasuke observed her amusedly. She gave up on cutting toast and attempted cutting through her bacon only to have the meat slide around her plate.

"You can use your hands, you know?" he asked before picking up his own toast and scooping some bacon and scrambled eggs on top of it. "See?"

Well now she just felt like a fool. Hinata mimicked Sasuke and rather enjoyed whatever the heck she was eating. She looked at the steaming cup of tea prepared for her and slowly sipped it. Why did he bring her to the ballroom?

"I was hoping we could share a dance again." He said sheepishly, turning away from her and sipping his own tea. Hinata gave him a weak smile recalling the pain she endured. "You dance magnificently, and I do love dancing with you."

They finished breakfast and got up. Hinata took Sasuke's hand and lead him to the middle of the dance floor. Sasuke quickly went over to the record player and played some music. Getting into position, they began. Step after step, Hinata couldn't help but smile at Sasuke's absolutely focussed expression while the corners of his mouth resisted the urge to turn upwards.

Soon Hinata's fantasy world of dancing romantically with the prince began crumbling as the pain began becoming too much to bear. She held back her tears and rested her head against Sasuke's chest. The swords drove into her feet further every step she took until the pads of her feet met the hilt only to have the swords torn out so that it could repeat the process. Hinata glanced down to see if it was really happening but nothing. Nothing was there but her and Sasuke's feet moving smoothly across the dance floor.

The song seemed to last hours and so did the next, and the one after. Sasuke twirled her out and was shocked to see her pained expression. He brought her back in only to accidentally stepping on her foot finally Hinata let the tears fall.

Sasuke apologized frantically and sat her down on the floor observing her feet but nothing seemed wrong.

_She's probably tired from dancing so much yesterday._ He thought.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered sadly. _I'm sorry I can't continue to be with you like this._

Hinata stopped crying and sniffled. Sasuke again leaned forward capturing her salty tears with his lips. It was odd to Hinata. Why would he want to kiss her when she cried? It was oddly comforting though.

_I'm sorry I can't be the one to comfort you._ He thought sadly. _I'm sorry I'm such a selfish man._

He held her face in his large palms and used his thumbs to brush away the stray tears. Hinata shut her eyes enjoying the feeling of his warm hands on her face. His thumb brushed over her bottom lip, and Hinata readied herself for what was next.

But nothing could have prepared her for what happened next.

* * *

Itachi asked his driver to stop. Was that Naruto?

"Naruto!" Itachi called from his carriage. Naruto stopped and turned around running straight for Itachi. He got in without another word.

"Head to the hospital right now!" Naruto yelled. Itachi confirmed the order and the carriage began going. "Faster dammit! I could run faster than this!"

Itachi stared at Ino's limp form. Blood seeped from a wound on her temple while her legs and left arm were twisted in an odd way. Her breathing was shallow and tears stained her face – though Itachi was sure they weren't hers but Naruto's.

"I left her alone for two fucking minutes and she goes missing!" Naruto roared. "Who the fuck would do this to her? She's loud and rude and god damn she's infuriating but who in their right mind would push her down the stairs?!"

"Naruto, how can you be sure someone pushed her?" Itachi asked. He couldn't rule out that Ino could have possibly tripped. Though he couldn't deny that it was highly unlikely that Ino would be that clumsy – she was _far_ from clumsy.

"Are you serious?" Naruto snapped. "We're talking about _Ino_ here. Have you seen the way she can balance like ten flowerpots in her arms and make it from one end of her shop to the other? The way she's so swift and can carry herself so well. The way she's always so careful with herself, and she keeps herself damn well. So no, I don't think she could have just tripped and had an accident."

Itachi was sure Naruto himself wasn't hearing half the things he was saying about the girl in his arms. He was right though. Itachi couldn't come up with one person in the Uchiha kingdom that would want to do something like this to Ino. As aggravating as she could get – well, not to Itachi – it was unlikely that someone would try to _kill_ her.

Dropping the two blondes off at the hospital, Itachi headed home in a hurry. Whoever this person was, they were still in the palace.

He ran around looking for Hinata. If anyone should be informed of the disaster that had just occurred, it should be her.

"Yoko, have you seen Hinata and Sasuke?" Yoko nodded shakily. Itachi made a mental note to interrogate the uneasy girl.

"Th-they went t-to the b-ballroom f-for breakfast th-this morning." She stammered.

There was no time to waste, Itachi went and ran into the ballroom only to find his brother leaning in to kiss Hinata. As much as he hated to be a cockblock, his brother was still engaged, Ino was still on the verge of dying, and now was not the time for this.

"Hinata." The pair pulled away sharply. The embarrassed girl looked at Itachi humiliated. "Ino is in the hospital." Hinata's eyes widened as she stood up clumsily with the help of Sasuke.

"Someone pushed her down the stairs." Hinata wasn't sure if it really was _her_, but she had to be sure.


End file.
